"Broadband" products and services, as they are generally referred to in the art, relate to those services and products which are transmitted using equipment and media which support a wide range of electromagnetic frequencies. For example, any voice communications channel having a bandwidth greater than a voice grade telecommunications channel may be referred to as broadband or wideband. Within the telephone industry, the term "broadband" denotes a very high digital line rate such as the 156 megabits per second (Mb/s) optical line rate of new sonet OC3-level fiber-optic systems.
While interactive broadband services and products are desirable, the new overlay networks necessary for their implementation are today cost prohibitive. Consequently, there exists a need for an interim solution for providing interactive broadband services and products to users which does not require the construction and implementation of an entirely new broadband network. Such an interim solution should utilize the existing network facilities and should not require substantial investment in new equipment or network connections.